One of the many problems with the Lyme disease bacteria is that when under attack, they can coat themselves with a biofilm. Think ‘getting slimed from ghostbusters…

…in fact:

“A biofilm is any group of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often these cells adhere to a surface. Biofilm is a polymeric conglomeration generally composed of extracellular DNA, proteins, and polysaccharides. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) which may also be referred to as SLIME (although not everything described as slime is a biofilm).” wiki

Is this mucous-y armor-y biofilm strong? Strong enough to withstand the antibiotics used to kill them and tadpole biofilm has even been found intact from the Miocene era so, yeah. Lyme disease bacteria can morph back and forth into this armor-like biofilm when attacked and remove it when it is going about its normal (destructive) life cycle. In fact, antibiotics like doxycycline, the standard treatment for Lyme disease, actually trigger the bacteria into producing this biofilm armor.
“The culprit behind Lyme disease, which is a bacterial infection, is spirochete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The antibiotics proven to kill this form of bacteria are doxycycline and amoxicillin. However, Borrelia burgdorferi can be found in morphological forms, including spirochetes, spheroplast (or L-form), round bodies, and biofilms. When conditions are considered unfavourable for the bacteria, it morphs into the dormant round body, then hides in a biofilm form. When conditions are favourable, however, it can shift back to its spirochete form.”

So what’s a Lyme disease sufferer to do when THE TREATMENT essentially STRENGTHENS the antibiotic resistance of the PATHOGEN?

THE GOOD NEWS:
A new study shows there is increased hope for Lyme disease sufferers. The use of Stevia, a common sugar, has been fond to destroy the biofilm. Taking STEVIA and ANTIBIOTICS will destroy the biofilm and the bacteria more effectively:

“Subculture experiments with Stevia and antibiotics treated cells were established for 7 and 14 days yielding, no and 10% viable cells, respectively compared to the above-mentioned antibiotics and antibiotic combination. When Stevia and the three antibiotics were tested against attached biofilms, Stevia significantly reduced B. burgdorferi forms. Results from this study suggest that a natural product such as Stevia leaf extract could be considered as an effective agent against B. burgdorferi.”

UPDATE: JUNE 13TH

In the next step of what may become the most monumental piece of medical legislature,

THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS SIGNED HB 810!

HB 810 will be effective on 9/1/17

I express virtually no surprise what so ever that there has been no media coverage of this.* The only piece of confirming data I can find is on the Texas Legislature site and in articles written by the tireless and noble Patient Warriors, around the world, who have been fighting for their lives and for this for years.

[original article below]

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Around the world, stem cells have been used for therapeutic application for decades, treating incurable illnesses, recovering terminal patients and improving qualities of life of untold numbers. In some form or another, Rafael Nadal got them…along with Peyton Manning, Jarvis Greene, Kobe Bryant and Dana White and hundreds or thousands of other athletes and weekend warriors but mostly outside the US because they weren’t available here.

Sadly, we in the US were…a little slow…to get the message. Foolishly allowing ourselves to get embroiled in the distracting political, financial and religious controversies; we have not been allowed to treat our sick and dying. Tragically, listening to the uninformed who said: “they are unproven!” despite thousands of studies and trials from around the world, the US stuck to our guns and enjoyed some of the worst medical care in the world. I wrote this in 2010:

“We are in fact about 8 years behind most of the developed world in stem cell research. The WHO ranks our health system at 37th, our life expectancy is 30th in the world, infant mortality is 34th in the world and this is all with our Health Expenditures as a % of GDP being almost the highest in the world (we are ranked #2).”

Now, Texas, House Bill 810 amended the bill which was “relating to the provision of certain investigational stem cell treatments to patients with certain severe chronic diseases or terminal illnesses and regulating the possession, use, and transfer of adult stem cells; creating a criminal offense,” and passed the Senate, unanimously.

The bill is on its way to the Governor’s office for signature. This has been a LONG time coming.

A hearty congratulations goes out especially to the tireless patient advocates/patient warriors who said: “no more!” and threw off the yoke of servitude to a medical system which no longer served their self-interests. Their efforts and those of many, many others have inexorably, infinitesimally, pushed the needle over time against multiple immovable objects.

What happens next? There will be chaos, turmoil and scrambling. There will be resistance and bad mouthing and nay saying…and in the end, Texas industry will likely generate billions in revenue, treat the un-treatable, recover the unrecoverable, extend the lives of those told to get their affairs in order and become THE center of regenerative medical innovation in the US, if not, the world.

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* I now see that there was media coverage; we just apparently beat them all to the punch. I am more than pleased that this advance is getting mass media coverage!

Health Care – FOX5 Vegas – KVVU 17 mins ago – House Bill (HB 810) on stem cell therapy has passed in the Texas state legislature and become law. Patients in Texas will now have access to this “Right to Try” …

Health Care – WDRB 41 Louisville News 36 mins ago – House Bill (HB 810) on stem cell therapy has passed in the Texas state legislature and become law. Patients in Texas will now have access to this “Right to Try” …

“Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each biological death. It is also called rebirth or transmigration, and is a part of the Saṃsāra doctrine of cyclic existence.”
“In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. Associated with the Sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor.”
“The resurrection of Jesus is the Christian religious belief that, after being put to death, Jesus rose again from the dead. It is the central tenet of Christian theology and part of the Nicene Creed: “On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures”.

“Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a grotesque but sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.”

Humanity has always been fascinated by resurrection – bringing the dead back to life. The references are plentiful and many will cry out that science should not mess with the great barrier of death for it is absolute and divine and we should not mess with nature. But, are life and death truly black and white?

Perhaps not. The “Lazarus syndrome, also known as autoresuscitation after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is the spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at resuscitation. Its occurrence has been noted in medical literature at least 38 times since 1982.”

Are there shades of gray between the absolute states of life and death?Miracle Max: It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there’s usually only one thing you can do. Inigo Montoya: What’s that? Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.
Perhaps Benjamin Franklin was only half right: “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes“

Death, it seems is not as final as we once thought. But, can it be done? Scientists have been given the green light to try:
“By implanting stem cells in the patient’s brain…they hope to reboot the brain and jump-start neural activity. The result could be people coming back to life.”

On a serious note

The above pics and quips aside…
this work is monumental and can have huge ramifications to the treatments of chronic and terminal disease, brain disorders and more. Many people would like to classify AGING as a disease which we need to study, treat and conquer and scientists around the world are making great strides in their efforts. Maybe one day soon we will also classify DEATH as a disease which we need to study, treat and conquer. Let’s keep an open mind and support the discovery of new methods for treating disease.

Scientists get the green light to resurrect the dead with stem cells

Mar 2, 2017

(Minds) Bioquark, a biotech company based in the United States, has been given the go-ahead to begin research on 20 brain-dead patients, in an attempt to stimulate and regrow neurons and, literally, bring the patients back from the dead.

By implanting stem cells in the patient’s brain, in addition to treating the spinal cord with infusions of chemicals and nerve stimulation techniques (both of which have been shown to bring people out of comas), they hope to reboot the brain and jump-start neural activity.

The result could be people coming back to life.

There isn’t much evidence that this will work, though there is one well-known neurological researcher and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, Dr. Calixto Machado who is involved with the study as a panel expert.

Bioquark’s CEO, Ira Pastor, said that

“to undertake such a complex initiative, we are combining biologic regenerative medicine tools with other existing medical devices typically used for stimulation of the central nervous system, in patients with other severe disorders of consciousness. We hope to see results within the first two to three months.”

He added, “it is a long-term vision of ours that a full recovery in such patients is a possibility, although that is not the focus of this first study.